Why is this so hard for everyone to get right?
It seems so easy to me… green side up…. roots in the soil…. tree parts above the soil. Yet still… everyday… someone is planting a tree without taking the wrapping off, or planting too deep, or treating it like a wood stick instead of a living thing. I read tons of materials about this and while every professional seems to agree… no one agrees on how to get the guy with the shovel to do it, how to teach a homeowner who maybe only plants one tree in 20 years, or how to even buy the tree in the first place (nursery stock is another topic). I fell sorry for the non-tree person trying to learn whats right or wrong by using the internet or asking different ‘experts’… I hope I don’t come across as that. I don’t have any stake in the matter like a landscaper getting paid to come back and do it again… or the guy with a pickup truck and a shovel… what do they care?
Let me start this by saying that no one method works every time. Trees are different, soil is different, tools used can change, etc… so the most important point is to THINK… What is important?… Why do we say to not plant too deep? Why are girdling roots bad? How will it get water?… Why remove the rope and burlap? If you know these answers… its better than just repeating the same motions everywhere.
- Find the root collar
- Measure height of root ball and dig hole to that depth or just less
- Dig as wide as possible. Until you meet sidewalk, curb, patio, house… whatever…. or probably when you get tired
- Place tree in hole and remove remaining rope, burlap, and whatever wire you can
- Put the soil back
- Water
- Cover entire dug up area with mulch
Every one of those steps gets screwed up routinely. For example… Air pockets in the soil ( roots can’t grow in air), Not removing the packaging ( are they really expecting the burlap to decay faster than the tree will grow?), Planting too deep ( why would anyone want to dig a deeper hole than necessary?)
Anyway… I am going to attach a good pic when I bring it home from work
